Financing Before Licensing

Conflicting reports are circulating whether or not the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) has revoked or reinstated Full Tilt’s operating licenses. Jeff Ifrah, who had been acting as Full Tilt’s legal counsel in a class action suit against the company, posted on the TwoPlusTwo forums that “there has been no official release of a ruling.” Rumours abound that the AGCC has delayed its announcement, expected in less than 24 hours, to allow Full Tilt time to inform its staff of the decision on Thursday morning.

Irah urged TwoPlusTwo to petition the AGCC not to revoke Full Tilt’s operating licenses: “Right now, it is important to encourage the AGCC to delay any ruling for a minimum of 30 days in order to permit a timely transition to a new ownership structure… I plead with all of you to do this and unite in this one effort. A negative AGCC ruling will cause all efforts that have been undertaken to secure this investor group to fail and leave customers in the cold.”

The AGCC has said repeatedly that it will only reinstate Full Tilt’s operating licenses if the company can secure much needed investment. When French regulator Autorité de Régulation des Jeux En Ligne (ARJEL) suspended Full Tilt’s license on July 4, it also said that management needed to refinance to win back its license. If Full Tilt cannot secure financing and, as a result, cannot win back its operating licenses, it may face liquidation.

According to sources in London, Full Tilt still owes the AGCC licensing fees. On July 27, news broke that Full Tilt owed the regulatory body £250,000 in licensing fees, though the AGCC announced less than a week later that the poker site had repaid that debt. It is unclear how much in licensing and other fees Full Tilt still owes. What is known, however, is that Full Tilt must secure financing before having any hope of winning back its licenses.